Leveraging Blockchain Technology in Supply Chain Sustainability: A Provenance Perspective

Technological advancements in the past few decades have played a critical role in enhancing supply chain management from varied dimensions. While advancements in information technology have significantly improved various facets of the supply chain, supply chain visibility still lags in tracking and tracing capabilities. The disruptive and emergent blockchain technology (BCT) presents enormous potential to address issues of supply chain sustainability. This paper seeks to evaluate the proximity of BCT to resolve provenance issues throughout the supply chain. The research considers the immaturity of BCT alongside limited success stories in supply chain management. It uses a content analysis methodology to examine recent literature about using BCT in supply chain sustainability and provenance. A conceptual model for using BCT to create an enabled, visible, and sustainable supply chain is provided to frame the investigation. Findings reveal that the benefits of BCT have mostly been conceptually demonstrated in the sustainable supply chain literature, but with few practical applications. Moreover, technically driven challenges including scalability and control are still prevalent. It reaffirms the fact that participants within a blockchain enabled supply chain network must be at the same level of knowledge regarding the technology and its functionality. The study also indicates evidence of a growing research interest in the niche, which will eventually bring about solutions to address ongoing challenges faced by BCT in its integration into supply chain management. These findings contribute to the literature about improving the security and utility of supply chain sustainability and provenance by using BCT.